Pitch-In, Level Up: A Modern Day Commune

The Cosmo Moms pitch-in on girls’ night every month — whoever already has chips and salsa on hand will call dibs, and the others are left to grab cheese, chicken, and whatever we’re drinking that night. That’s dinner and drinks, with minimal effort.

We do the same thing for our monthly cookouts — I’ll provide hot dogs and buns, everyone else brings what they’ve got on hand to complete the meal. And then we took the pitch-in to a whole new level.

It started small. “Hey, does anyone have a punch bowl I can borrow?” The answer was yes so often, we began to rely on one another. Then, it snowballed. “I’m planning a party for the kids — who’s on crafts?” “I’m at the store, does anyone need anything?”

Now we basically view everyone’s belongings as community property. I’m often lugging the Rug Doctor to 3rd Monday for someone’s carpet 911. I usually bring home something else in exchange — last month it was an extra DVD player for our road trip.

Now, I don’t buy anything major, without checking to see if someone already owns it. There are plenty of everyday items that you don’t really use every day — ladders, tools, luggage racks, party supplies. Why should all of us store these items when we can just pitch-in when they’re needed.

We’ve taken the pitch-in to a whole new level. Because the Cosmo Moms are more than just friends. We’re also a bit of a commune — and we wouldn’t have it any other way.